Mobile broadband data networks are becoming pervasive in modern day life. Their expansive reach is appealing not just to humans but to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices as well where devices like smart meters, sensors, vehicles continuously generate data that can be used for better security, efficiency or lower cost of the business operation. The mobile broadband network includes 3rd Generation (3G)/4th Generation (4G) networks and hybrid networks combining Wi-Fi access with 3G/4G networks.
The expectations and device characteristics for IoT differ quite substantially from those used by humans such as smartphones. The IoT devices could be very low powered, fixed in one location for years and communicating sporadically at low data rate or they could be always connected to power supply, constantly streaming video at high rate and anything in between. Regardless, in all these cases sending a human to the device, for the purpose of configuring, updating or fixing a device/connectivity is highly undesirable. IoT devices do not have a screen for user interaction. Moreover, for most of IoT devices, the 3G/4G connectivity module must be assembled at the time of manufacturing. Given the global nature of business, such devices could be manufacture in one country and may be deployed in another country by an enterprise that is headquartered in yet another country. Since mobile operators have networks that are tied to specific geographies where they are licensed, it creates an interesting situation for an operator who wants to serve the enterprise globally by leveraging roaming relationships and who are willing to deploy additional systems in distributed locations to serve such enterprises. While doing so they would not want to mix the IoT traffic with human consumer traffic and hence need mechanism to steer traffic from IoT system locally. GSMA has introduced the concept of embedded SIM (eSIM) for IoT which could dynamically receive profile for specific operators and connect the IoT device to that particular operator. However, this adds new complexities in business relationship and does not help an operator in offering global service.